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High stakes battle for PRESIDENCY
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PROFILE
On the record
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High stakes battle for PRESIDENCY
THE countdown to the election of the country’s next President has begun. As the largest constituent of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the Congress has initiated discussions with its allies on forging a consensus on the ruling combine’s candidate for the top post. As these consultations pick up pace in the coming weeks, the focus will be on a clutch of regional parties, which are set to determine the choice of the next incumbent of Rashtrapati Bhavan in what promises to be an unprecedented and unpredictable election. The composition of the Electoral College for the July presidential election gives a clear edge to regional players. As the numbers stack up today, the Congress-led UPA accounts for a little over 4.6 lakh votes, the BJP-headed National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has ownership of 3.04 lakh votes, while the non-NDA and non-UPA parties hold the balance of over 2.62 lakh votes. It is fairly evident from the numerical strength of the various political parties that neither of the national political formations can hope to get their candidate elected without the support of regional players. The election is a major challenge for the beleaguered Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, who is faced with the onerous job of keeping the UPA allies together and enlisting the support of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party or Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which lend outside support to the ruling combine. Between them, the two regional satraps have over 1 lakh votes under their belt. In fact, the Samajwadi Party is at present the largest regional party, with 30 MPs in Parliament and 224 legislators in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. Coming shortly after the Congress suffered a string of electoral reverses, which pushed the party further down on the popularity charts, it has become imperative for the grand old party to ensure the election of its presidential candidate. Such a development will help a demoralised Congress to reassert its authority within the ruling coalition and restore the government’s credibility. In case it fails in its mission, the opposition can be expected to ambush the UPA government more aggressively, making it that much more difficult for the ruling combine to function coherently. There is also another reason why the Congress wants to install its own candidate in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Although it is a ceremonial post, the President’s office has acquired a certain pre-eminence in the era of coalitions. The next President will decide on who is to be invited to form the government in 2014, which could prove critical, given the current flux in the country’s polity. In order to have her way, Sonia Gandhi has to first ensure that all UPA allies are on the same page. This could well prove ticklish as she will have to deal with the temperamental Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has been on the warpath for several months now. Among the UPA partners, she has the largest number of votes. It is only after she forges a consensus with the UPA partners that the Congress president will try to get outside supporting parties such as the Samajwadi Party on board.
The three ‘M’s This presidential poll clearly hinges on Mulayam, Mamata and Maya. The Congress requires the support of two of these three leaders to get its candidate elected. Well aware of their increased clout, the allies (both inside and outside the government) are keeping their cards close to the chest. They will, however, drive a hard bargain, which could prove difficult for the Congress. As it is, there are indications that the Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party plan to work in tandem to build pressure on the Congress on the choice of the next presidential candidate. It is to be seen if the two parties can enlist the support of other parties, such as Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK and Naveen Patnaik’s BJD, to increase their bargaining power, as they have come together in the recent past in confronting the Centre on federal issues. While the Congress will unleash a charm offensive on the regional parties in the coming days, the BJP will not be far behind in wooing them. The main opposition party is not averse to a contest, as it would be a great opportunity for it to show up the cracks in the UPA and demonstrate its own growing acceptability with regional parties. The BJP game plan is to encourage regional satraps to use their clout to ensure that somebody from outside the Congress fold succeeds Pratibha Patil. BJP leaders privately disclose that they want to use the election to marginalise the Congress and expand the NDA in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP is reported to be keen on nominating “missile man” A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who was the NDA’s presidential candidate in 2002, especially since the Congress is not particularly enamoured of him. It hopes to get the support of the Samajwadi Party, as it was Mulayum Singh Yadav who had proposed Kalam’s name to former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The SP, the BJP believes, may find it difficult to oppose somebody from the minority community. Mulayam Singh Yadav, however, has not indicated his choice so far.
Consensus vs compromise The Congress would ideally like to see somebody from its ranks as the next President, failing which it wants to build consensus around a “Congress-sponsored” candidate. Vice-President Hamid Ansari’s name is being mentioned as a UPA probable as he would be largely acceptable to most parties across the political spectrum. However, the BJP is wary of him after his controversial decision to adjourn the Rajya Sabha on the last day of the winter session without allowing a vote on the Lokpal Bill. Mamata Banerjee too may be suspicious of Ansari, as it was the Left parties which had pushed his candidature during the UPA-I regime. RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has already endorsed Ansari’s candidature. Given the prevailing confusion, various scenarios could well play out in the coming weeks, which will see some hard bargaining between the different players. The Congress attempt will be to keep the UPA intact, enlist the support of outside partners like the Samajwadi Party and the BSP along with the Left parties. It could even offer the Vice-President’s post to the SP in exchange for its endorsement for a UPA candidate. The BJP’s effort is to add to the NDA numbers by getting the support of regional players like the AIADMK, BJD and the TDP. In addition, it would also like to pull in the SP and Trinamool Congress to put up a united candidate. Alternatively, the regional players like the Trinamool, SP, AIADMK and the BJD could force either the UPA or the NDA, or even both, to agree to their choice.
HOW THE PRESIDENT IS ELECTED
The Electoral College that votes for the President comprises the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the state Assemblies. To ensure uniformity in representation of each state according to its population and the total number of elected MLAs from each, a certain value is attached to the vote of an MLA of each state, and a value is also attached to each MP's vote. The value of an MLA's vote is calculated by dividing the total population of his state by the total seats in the Vidhan Sabha of that state, and then again dividing it by 1,000. The value of an MP's vote is worked out by adding the total value of votes assigned to all MLAs of the country, and then dividing it by the number of elected members of Parliament (both Houses). For the election, members of the Electoral College mark their order of preference for each candidate on the ballot. A candidate in order to be elected must secure his quota of votes (values added up), which is 50 per cent of valid votes +1. Second preference
is considered when no candidate wins more than half the total votes. The total value of the votes with the two alliances in this election: UPA and allies: 4.6 lakh NDA and allies: 3.04 lakh Others, including SP, BSP, AIADMK and the Left:
2.62 lakh
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This above all
BLASPHEMY “Who was the first man on God’s Earth?” asks Saint Peter. “Adam,” the sister replies, and the lights flash, the bells toll and the gates of Heaven open. Sister Mary Rose steps forward and says she is ready. “Who was the first woman on God’s Earth?” asks Saint Peter. “Eve,” the sister replies, and the lights flash, the bells toll and the gates of Heaven open. The Mother Superior steps forward and announces that she is ready. “What was the first thing Eve said to Adam?” asks the Saint. Mother Superior Betty is shocked. “My goodness,” she says, “That’s a hard one.” And the lights flash, the bells toll and the gates of Heaven open.
R.I.P. An old pastor lay dying. He sent a message for the Internal Revenue Service agent and his lawyer to come to the hospital. When they arrived, they were ushered up to his room. As they entered the room, the pastor held out his hands and mentioned for them to sit on each side of the bed. The pastor grasped their hands, sighed contentedly, smiled and stared at the ceiling. For a time no one said anything. Both the IRS agent and lawyer were touched and flattered that the old man would ask them to be with him during his final moments. They were also puzzled because the pastor had never given any indication that he particularly liked either one of them. Finally, the lawyer asked, “Pastor, why did you ask the two of us to come here?” The old pastor mustered all his strength and then said weakly: “Jesus died between two thieves, and that’s how I’d like to go.” (Contributed by Vipin Buckshey, New Delhi)
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And that is exactly what happened with me and Saadat Hasan Manto. Had he lived he would have been 100 years old within a fortnight, but he died a year before I was born, and I never met him. Yet, for me, it was love at first read. Thus, unsurprisingly, when I first read him, around 17 years ago, I simply could not stop myself. And I am sure there are many who continue to react the same way. I simply had to read everything he had ever written, and though I didn’t quite succeed (as he was a prolific writer), I felt driven by an insane passion to devour every word. There was a thrill in discovering a brilliant and versatile writer who could articulate clearly and precisely everything that was both wonderful and crazy in our world — with a constant sense of humour, and often, dark satire. He was also a writer with complete mastery over so many different genres: short stories, radio plays, film scripts, essays…. even letters!
He was both modern and self confident — someone who already knew that he was ahead of his time. But he knew he was a misfit and extremely controversial — dragged half a dozen times to court for his bold descriptions of sexuality: in men, women and even adolescents. He was reviled by the ‘progressive’ writers, envied by his contemporaries, never quite sure where he belonged — and he could spot hypocrisy a mile away. Yet he continued to be a rebel and lived his life according to his own, sometimes very painful, terms. Seventeen years ago — because the ‘young and trendy’ in Delhi’s literary circles had still not adopted him and made him into a ‘rage’ — I could enjoy my secret junoon in private, scouring all bookshops in Old Delhi to find any publication associated with him. And in fact, because I couldn’t read Urdu, the only way I could access his writings was in the Hindi script. Perhaps that might have been a good way to be introduced to him initially, as the purity of his language was maintained, which some translators, however excellent, have still not been able to replicate in English. A story like Toba Tek Singh or Khol Do still resonates most vehemently when it is read in Manto’s own words. And because I had stumbled upon him quite by accident while researching another iconic figure, Ismat Chughtai, I wondered about those lost decades when he was not as celebrated as he is today. Was he forgotten in India because he had made the difficult choice of re-locating to Pakistan after Partition? Indeed, one only realises how difficult that decision must have been for him when one reads his accounts of his own mental and physical sense of dislocation. And how he felt that the decision was almost imposed upon him, following the uneasy situation which cropped up both in the film studios and on the streets of Bombay. He could not bear the burden of suspicion he felt he was regarded with, even by his closest friends. These are painful moments, vividly depicted. But as with everything else, Manto recorded his own angst with a brilliant sensitivity. Ironically, while we in India for some time blithely disregarded one of our greatest writers (except for a few diehard fans), the astonishing part was that he went equally uncelebrated in Pakistan, especially during the decades following his death. Perhaps there too, the painful history of his physical disintegration — his drinking and his incarceration in the Lahore asylum — made him persona non grata. Not to speak of the difficult subjects about which he wrote. There was much in his writing to make the status quo-ists in both India and Pakistan uncomfortable. Perhaps even more so when they encountered his special regard for the downtrodden and the marginalised. Much of his frankly provocative writing would have been viewed with alarm, with his Partition stories cutting close to the bone. Thus it was exciting to ‘stumble’ upon him, however accidently. And then, because luckily I was participating in a playwriting workshop conducted by Mahesh Dattani, in Delhi, I decided to go public with my romance — and write a play on Manto. Once again, when I presented the idea to a room full of well-read and erudite people, it was with extreme nervousness because few had heard about the court cases he and Ismat Chughtai had to go through — though they had all heard of D.H. Lawrence’s court case. And my whole play was set up like a court-room trial. Fortunately for my all-too-ambitious plans, the play “Manto!” won the top prize in the workshop — and it was actually staged by Theatre Action Group at Kamani Theatre in Delhi, directed by the wonderful Barry John. My romance, thus, had a happy ending. I was able to pay a small tribute to a marvellous writer. Later, I spoke to a very encouraging Khushwant Singh about my further desire to write a biography on my idol. With his blessings, I even went to Pakistan to track down his family, interviewing his daughters, his sister and his few remaining friends. But my funniest memory in Pakistan is of visiting the mental hospital in Lahore where Manto had been kept to rid him of his alcoholism. I told the warden that I was writing a biography on Saadat Hasan Manto, and requested to see the cell where he had been kept. The jailer looked puzzled. “I don’t know about him, Madam. I don’t think we have him in our records,” he replied politely. Then seeing my disappointment, but still eager to help, he quickly added, “But we have so many other lunatics. Why don’t you choose to write about any one of them?” It was truly an episode that Manto himself would have appreciated! Kishwar Desai’s new novel, Origins of Love, is scheduled to be published by Simon and Schuster by May-end
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PROFILE Jadav shared his experience of creating the forest that is home to the endangered Indian vulture, one-horned rhino and the Royal Bengal tiger. Among those present was Magsaysay Award winner Rajendra Singh, popularly known as “Waterman of India”. Such is Jadav’s achievement, that he may himself be considered for Magsaysay or the Green Oscar. JNU Vice-Chancellor Sudhir Kumar Sopory called him the “Forest Man of India.” Jadav’s legend starts in 1979, when flood waters filled the local sandbar with snakes. Since there were no trees there, or a reflux to carry them back, the snakes died. This acted as a shock to Jadav, then just 16. He ran to the Forest Department for help. He got none. The authorities told him the soil was not right for growing trees, except bamboos. Jadav was not the one to give up; he left his education and moved to the sandbar to live alone. Following forest officials’ advice, he transported bamboo shoots, planted and nurtured them. The process was slow, but eventually things came around. Flora started creeping in, and made home there — vultures, migratory birds, deer and cattle. Hearing of the achievement, the Forest Department sent an officer to check out. The Assistant Conservator, amazed at what he saw, said: “Had Jadav been in any other country, he would have been made a hero.” A film based on his life, “The man who planted trees”, was produced recently. Jadav made the impossible possible. While other such habitats have a budget of millions and a crew of thousands, Jadav, now in his mid-fifties, has pulled off a miracle with no financial assistance, except a few donated tree saplings. He still lives in a small hut with his wife and three children, making a living from selling milk from his cow and a buffalo. Situated on a sandbar in the middle of the Brahmaputra and isolated by road and river, Jadav’s forest is now known as ‘Molar Kathoni’ (Molai’s Woods — named after Jadav’s pet name Molai). What Jadav did was to create a virtual oasis of greenery that not only provides a sanctuary to common varieties of flora and fauna, but also a few endangered species, including three one-horned rhinos. Visiting herds of elephants use the shelter to give birth annually. Efforts are being made to declare the area an official wildlife sanctuary. That’s a long haul from the time when he transported red ants from a nearby village to improve the land’s soil quality. Jadav even risked his life as angry locals wanted to cut down his forest to drive away marauding elephants. He told them to kill him first. He says if his creation is managed in the right earnest by the state government, he will start a new project somewhere else.
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On the record How do you see the economic situation following the repo rate cut by the RBI? Cutting repo rate by 50 basis points is a welcome step, which will ease the tight monetary policy and arrest the economic slide. It sets the stage for cheaper lending costs and could reverse inflationary pressures. The RBI has acted vigorously to reverse the slowdown. What issues would ASSOCHAM like to be addressed in the Finance Bill amendments? There should be re-thinking on retrospective amendments, as mentioned in the Finance Bill for 2012-13, and the government should not introduce the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) in the present form without adequate safeguards. GAAR can wait as the Direct Tax Code is likely to be considered by Parliament soon. The burden of proving tax evasion should rest with the Revenue Department. The government should consider the taxpayer a partner in growth, rather than treating him as tax evader until proven innocent. The proposal for reopening assessment cases for the past 16 years, as against six at present, has made people with foreign assets jittery. The industry fears these can be misused. Sixteen years is too long a period to maintain records. It should not be more than eight or 10 years. The deduction for investment in infrastructure bonds under Section 80CCF (which was earlier available up to Rs 20,000) should be extended for a few more years to help garner resources for infrastructure. The deduction of interest on housing loan should be increased from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, as it will give a fillip to the real estate sector, which in turn will give a push to the economy. What is your view on the jewellers’ agitation, since ASSOCHAM has been advocating reduction in gold consumption? We strongly believe that gold inflows should be restricted with higher customs duty. India’s gold import bill could total $100 billion by 2015-16, which means that much of the country’s savings would flow out and create jobs in other countries. The government should educate people on savings in formal financial instruments. What do you say on coalition compulsions holding back reforms? Coalition compulsions are there in a democracy. But the government must make its partners and Opposition parties realise that economic reforms are essential to attract domestic and foreign investments, build capacities, create jobs and upgrade infrastructure so that equitable growth can take place across the country. We need ‘process reforms’, i.e., effective implementation of the enacted policies. Will the Vodafone controversy over retrospective amendments in the Budget affect FDI inflows? In most countries that have adopted GAAR, detailed guidance is available, which helps clear fears. This fine print is not available in India. However, India is a 1.2-billion country, and the second fastest growing economy in the world. No investor can ignore us in the long run. Investments from industry are not happening within the country. A lot of capital is moving abroad. This is directly linked to loss of business confidence. As the country has experienced a prolonged spell of hyper-inflationary conditions, the attractiveness of doing ongoing businesses has diminished, let alone new investment. The prices of primary products and fuel increased at higher rates as compared to manufactured products. As a result, the bottom lines of firms shrunk despite registering healthy growth in top lines. Another factor that affected confidence is the high cost of finance. The larger firms are not getting finances at 12 to 13 per cent. The SME sector has to pay much higher interests. Assocham has advocated amnesty for black money. How is it justified? A large amount of black money was stashed abroad in the pre-reform era. It is not possible to get information about funds deposited abroad in the past because the exchange of information will not be retrospective under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements that the government is entering into with various tax havens. At the same time, the government needs money for infrastructure. People would not bring money back because of the penal threat. Given the realities, Assocham feels it will be prudent to announce a VDIS. The immunity is needed only under the direct and indirect taxes, Companies Act, FEMA and the Money Laundering Act. There’s a debate on oil subsidies. Subsidies must be given only to targeted sections. Use of subsidised diesel for running gensets by star hotels, telecom towers, and luxury automobiles must be curbed. There is an urgent need for the UID rollout to directly transfer subsidies to the beneficiaries.
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VOTE
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THEY say you must not look into the teeth of a horse gifted to you. By examining its teeth, one can tell its age and what it is worth. The gesture lacks gratitude. I found myself in the same predicament when six gentlemen, three movie cameramen, descended on me. The only one I knew was Sharad Dutt, who had retired from government service five years ago. They gave me a huge bouquet of flowers, a woollen shawl, a lovely artefact of a crystal ball mounted on silver spikes, a citation written in Gurmukhi, and a cheque for Rs 1 lakh. I am still not sure what I had done to merit these gifts. They came from Pearl Broadcasting Corporation, based in Noida. I am still not sure why they made this gesture. Flowers will wither in a few days, the shawl will be of no use to me as I will surely go to a place reputed to be very hot, nor the money be of any use as there is no likelihood of a bank there. So I comfort myself by asking why look a gift horse in the mouth?
Three nuns stand at the Pearly Gates of Heaven, and Saint Peter turns to them and explains that they must answer a single question each to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Sister Katherine steps forward.
Sometimes
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few days back on “Earth Day”, Jawaharlal Nehru University honoured a remarkable man from Assam, Jadav Payeng, who has single-handedly grown a sprawling forest on a 550-hectare sandbar in the middle of the Brahmaputra. 
Rajkumar Dhoot